Born to Rule: Royal Web
by Meriem Clayton
Summary: Sequel to Born to Rule: What A Sovereign Must Know. Spoilers for Season 9. Unknown to him, Daniel is really a crown prince of a 6 world kingdom. His family kidnaps him to fulfill his destiny and takes Mitchell, Jack, and Sam with him.
1. Chapter 1

This story was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt has been made to copyright any characters which may not have been originally created by the author, and no profit is made from this work of fiction. Any original characters and the stories themselves are the property of the author.

Thanks to my wonderful betas, Jess and Monica and to anyone who provides feedback.

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Samantha Carter winced as she dabbed at the fresh cut above an equally fresh bruise on Jack O'Neill's forehead. "So were the daily beatings as much fun as always?" she said briskly, refusing to give in to sympathy.

He turned his head toward her and feigned a hurt little boy look. "Where's the tender part of the TLC?" he asked. "For that matter," he added, reaching for her and pulling her toward him, "where's the loving part?"

She pushed him away and got up to walk across his room and plop down on the bed across from the divan where he was sitting.

"Ah," he said, approving of her change of venue and starting to come toward her, "better idea."

She jumped up like she had been goosed and held up a hand to warn him off. "Jack, I'm tired of this. What's the point of getting yourself slapped around by two or three guards on a daily basis?"

"I'm rather proud that it usually takes at least three of them," he said, tilting his head. When her expression didn't change, he said, "Don't start throwing Daniel and Mitchell in my face again, Sam. They got in bed with our captors. I would rather get in bed with you."

She swept her hand around the luxurious room, "It's not like they treat us that badly. Going along with reasonable requests like we learn the language and respect their customs, be polite to the guards and avoid, oh, punching them, doesn't mean we can't continue to look for a way to escape. That's all Daniel and Cam have done, cooperate and soak up every bit of information they could, make friends with his family so they would let down their guard. They haven't actually assisted these people to do anything against us. Daniel helped us make that one escape attempt, didn't he?" she finished, her hands on her hips, not backing down at all from her insistence that this was the time to talk, rather than do anything else.

"And," Jack said, "he didn't come with us."

"Jack, those Jaffa sympathizers who offered to get us out of here weren't interested in helping Daniel escape and you know it. They wanted him to stay because they want him to inherit the throne. They think he'd be more sympathetic to their point of view than the current regime. There's a really tense political situation going on with the integrated society of Jaffa and humans that's worked for almost 2,000 years about to come apart with the humanocentric movement on one side and the Jaffa who want to return to carrying symbiotes on the other. The Jaffa sympathizers just wanted to get us away so that his mother, the co-ruler, couldn't continue to make him toe her party line by threatening us." Daniel's affection for his friends was one reason for the cooperative path he had chosen. They'd been kidnapped with him to give his real family leverage over him. Because he was royal, no one but his mother had the power to discipline him. This was neatly solved by punishing his friends in his place for any misdeed on Daniel's part.

Sam sighed. "I thought you and Daniel made peace after he had them stock the lake so the two of you could go fishing together."

"Yeah. I'm just feeling pissed off in general." She looked down and he studied her bent head a few moments. He surprised them both when he said, "Maybe it bugs me a little when I think you're comparing me unfavorably to Daniel." She looked up at him wide-eyed. This volunteering of feelings was not a common occurrence.

He moved across the room and put his arms around her, slid his hands down to her backside and pulled her tight against him. He murmured against her neck. "He's going to be the king, co-ruler, whatever, and, I think, maybe he wants you, whether he's admitted it to himself or not. But damn it, Sam, he can't have you. He'll have palaces and God knows what else but he can't have you."

Sam relaxed into his caresses, not bothering to argue with Jack's assumption, founded out of jealousy not fact, that Daniel had any sexual interest in her. She couldn't help but think that Jack was in massive denial, focusing on things like Daniel's fictional attraction to her, so he didn't have to come to terms with the fact that they were never getting out of their gilded cage. He wouldn't stop fighting their captivity tooth and nail but if he truly believed, deep down, that they really had a chance of ever getting back to earth, he would never have finally become her lover.

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When his recently discovered real mother, the co-ruler with her Jaffa counterpart of the six Beatus worlds, dismissed him from her presence, Daniel found Cam outside the audience chamber, leaning against a column and harassing the guards who stood on either side of the 12 foot high, intricately carved double doors. They were light years away from Buckingham Palace but the code for palace guards was universal. Expressionless and eyes ahead, they ignored Cam who was asking them who they liked for the Super Bowl.

"You're a newly minted, official courtier in good standing," Daniel said, speaking in English. "This is beneath you," but he was laughing when he said it and he clapped Cam on the shoulder and steered him down the echoing corridor toward the entire wing of the palace given over to Daniel as the crown prince.

"They were loving me," Cam said, in mock protest. "Imagine the boredom. When you're king, you got to let them have Gameboys or something."

They were walking through miles of corridors floored with intricate inlay or marble or sumptuous carpets and lined with framed artworks interlaced with niches holding fragile glass sculpture. "And all this will someday be yours," Cam said, stopping to look at a particularly exquisite piece.

"The part that isn't state property WE CAN'T TOUCH is ours, not just mine," Daniel said, stopping Cam from picking up the piece. "Sharing it with you, Jack, and Sam is the least I can do, given that my real family casually kidnapped you and brought you here when they snatched me." Daniel paused at an intersection of two corridors, and stood studying his options.

"You're lost," Cam chuckled. "Your family has a palace so freaking large that you're lost in it."

"And you're not?" Daniel asked, with about half his attention. He was determined to figure this out. "That way? What do you think?" he eventually asked Cam, pointing to the left.

"Damned if I know," Cam responded. He jerked his head toward the direction Daniel had selected and they set off again.

"Of course, if I can do anything about it, Sam and Jack will be out of here long before I get the throne. I have no choice but to stay now that I understand just how bad things are and the opportunity I have to do something about it." Daniel looked straight ahead and said, "Cam, you can change your mind any time about staying here and helping me try to do some good. It bothers me for you to give up Earth for me."

"Get over yourself. It's a little bit for you but it's mostly because since we got the Ascended to change their minds and fight the Ori for us, I don't have that much to do on Earth and I can do quite a bit here. And, maybe, just a tiny, tiny bit because your sister's starting to get to me," Cam said, giving Daniel a sideways look to see what the reaction would be to that confession.

Daniel looked at him and said dubiously. "Ruth is starting to get to you? You're messing with me, right?"

"Isn't all this 'we all act like we don't know about it but they're together every night stuff' between Jack and Sam making you feel a little like you need to meet a girl?"

Daniel said, warningly, "Stay away from the Jack and Sam subject, okay, Cam?"

Cam stopped, clearly in the throes of an epiphany, and Daniel halted a few paces further and turned back to look at him. Cam said slowly, "I don't know why it's taken me so long to see this but you're in love with her, aren't you Daniel?"

Daniel bit his lip. He and Cam had become so close over the past six months that this was almost the only remaining secret. "I would be in love with her if I let myself," he admitted at last, "but there's never been any hope and I've never allowed myself to go there."

He started to walk again and Cam quickly caught up as they continued to stroll, without any further conversation, along what appeared to be the main corridor, ignoring several opportunities to go down side corridors. At last Cam said, "So what did your mother have to say after she sent me out of the room? Nothing bad about Sam and Jack, I hope?"

Today, Daniel had won the promise from his mother that Cam would be treated as a free man, held accountable only for his own actions and not punished for Daniel's, but she was not ready to extend any privileges to Jack and Sam, still closely guarded prisoners in the remote palace on Paix. "Maybe I can wear her down about Jack and Sam. After all, if she believes I'm totally on board, what's the need to keep them around as a guarantee? There'll be opportunities to work on her since we're not going back to Paix yet. We're here, maybe for weeks, visiting with her for an hour daily."

Cam interrupted to say, "Entire weeks? I don't suppose she'd go for a couple of days worth of all day sessions instead?"

Daniel ignored him. "But to answer your question, she had nothing further to say about Sam and Jack. What she did say was that my brother, Caius, had a surprise for me, someone who would be useful because I would always know I couldn't trust him or her."

"I hate it when I feel like I'm living in a scene from the 'Lord of the Rings,'" Cam said. "People saying deliberately abstruse, quasi-deep things. So, Frodo, what do you think she meant?"

"Not a clue but I really hope he didn't bring me Maybourne," Daniel said, feeling relieved as he recognized the doors Cam was pointing at, located at the end of a corridor intersecting with their own.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Cam crowed triumphantly as they entered Daniel's wing at last.  
Daniel and Cam crossed the interior courtyard of Daniel's wing, intent on finding Caius and not paying much attention to the gorgeous beds of brilliant flowers scattered about or the carefully executed herringbone brickwork under their feet. Over the splashing of the fountain and the cooing of birds, they heard a familiar voice ask impatiently, "Where's my Daniel?"

Daniel and Cam exchanged a mutual look of disbelief. Words were unnecessary. They entered Daniel's main reception room and there she was, all black leather and long black hair. She immediately launched herself at Daniel, wound her arms around his neck, and gave him an exuberant kiss. He broke the kiss off but hugged her hard and whispered in her ear, "I'm so glad you're alive. We owe you," before he peeled her off and held her off arm's length. She had, after all, saved their lives and bought the time they needed for the Ascended to change their stance and defend them against the Ori. Until now, he had only had a faint hope that she had lived.

Cam was laughing, Daniel could tell out the corner of his eye. He knew she was about to exasperate him again, it was in her blood, but he was very, very glad to see her alive. Vala didn't look distressed by the whole situation and Daniel surmised she had not been kidnapped but rather paid, and paid well, to come there.

Etiquette required he greet the other royal in the room first before any commoner, guest or not. "Greetings, brother," he said courteously to Caius who returned his greeting and then deigned to recognize Cam. Etiquette required that Cam not speak to a royal like Caius, until the royal spoke first. Obviously Daniel and Cam did not observe this rule in private.

Cam said, "Hello, Vala. You did a really fine thing and I'm glad you made it." Vala gave him an almost dismissive answer, all her attention focused on Daniel, no surprise there as he was the man in the room would end up with most of the money and power.

"Well, Vala," Daniel said, at last. He steered her toward a chair, parked her, and took a chair himself. "what brings you here?"

"I wanted to see you, of course," she answered smiling brightly at him.

"Caius?" Daniel asked.

Caius responded with a straight forward answer instead of the deliberate attempt to aggravate Daniel to which Daniel was accustomed, "Our mother directed that she be hired as a consultant for you." His general cordiality made Daniel wonder if something had changed in the months since he had seen him.

"My thanks brother for whatever she brings to the task," Daniel returned, warmth in his voice. Daniel stood. "I think it would be well to consult with my new consultant privately," Daniel said politely, but with an undertone of command, the way he had learned he was expected to deal with other royals. There was, in fact, nothing that he would not say in front of Cam, but there was no polite way to ask Caius to leave without also dismissing Cam. As Cam went out behind Caius, Daniel exchanged a look with him that signaled him to return.

Vala put her own interpretation on his request for privacy. As soon as they were alone, Vala came swiftly to him and wound herself around him. He allowed himself to enjoy the kiss for a little while. It had been far too long since he had gotten close to a woman but her wandering hands brought him to his senses. He put her away from him again and said, a trifle huskily, "Now that we have that out of our systems."

Vala wheedled, "Why stop? We would both enjoy it."

"Really," Daniel said dryly. "I seem to remember you saying something like 'I haven't been this disappointed since I had sex with Daniel"  
She grimaced and gave him a sheepish smile. "I was aggravated with you at the time. I didn't really mean it."

"It's good to see you, Vala, but not because anything physical is going to happen between us. Please sit back down," he requested as Cam retuned quietly to the room. He watched her walk back across the room, putting an extra swish in her step. He ached to take her up on her invitation, knowing it would be very, very nice, but he also knew he would not like himself for it afterwards. Getting back to business, he asked, "Have you had any contact with Stargate Command since we were snatched?"

"No." She shook her head. "I had something of a challenge getting out of Ori-land. Not really been in touch."

"Did you learn anything useful about them?" Daniel asked.

"Not really. I just kept my head down," she admitted.

"You're a real font of information, aren't you?" Cam commented a little sarcastically.

"What part of privately did you not understand, Colonel," Vala retorted, glaring at Cam.

"Vala, listen to me," Daniel said, looking at her unsmiling. "I have no idea how I can use your, um, talents. You'll stay here in this wing with Cam and me until then. I owe you but don't cross me. I'm not the same man you knew. I have the power and the will to make you regret betraying me. Finally, know this. Cam and I are a team. He has my trust and confidence. Anything you hear from him, will be as if it came from me." 


	2. Chapter 2

Jack and Sam had started their instructions in everything one must know to function in the stratosphere of Beatus society with Daniel and Cam. Daniel and Cam had quickly moved so far ahead that they began to be instructed separately. Jack had joked that he and Sam were in the "Bluebird" reading group for the slow kids. Sam was an extremely brilliant woman and bored to tears because she had long ago understood and learned everything that the tutor continued to go over and over with them. She had no choice but to continue to act like she didn't really get it, unless she wanted to be separated from Jack who was having a ball playing dumb. For awhile Sam was able to entertain herself a little with trying to figure out just where Jack was drawing his inspiration for his class persona. Eventually she figured out that he was channeling Forrest Gump and things got even deadlier as she turned to reconstructing "Brady Bunch" episodes she had last seen 30 years before.

The elderly Jaffa man who had been their original instructor had been replaced by a Jaffa woman about Sam's age after Daniel and Cam went to court. Jack had made the original instructor half crazy but Julia was so intrinsically sad that he just didn't have the heart to give her the same sort of hard time. She further reached him in a way none of the other staff had because she reminded him physically rather strongly of his wife, Sara. Sam knew Jack had never really stopped loving Sam but had given up on ever being able to live with her. Jack actually began to start cooperating with the lessons in a low key fashion.

"What do you suppose Julia's story is?" Jack asked Sam. It was a complete 180 degree subject change from the conversation she had been trying to have with him as they sat on the balcony on a cool evening, Sam cuddled against him in a large chair. Just like that, they suddenly weren't talking about what mattered to her anymore.

"We COULD just ask her," Sam said, stating the obvious, slightly impatiently.

"It really annoys you for some reason that I'm curious about this," Jack observed, looking at her quizzically.

Sam pleated her robe with her right hand. Was there any point at all, trying to make him understand how it made her feel when he was dismissive about the things she tried to talk about? Jack wouldn't get it, would he? Instead he'd either get mad and sulk or he'd shut her up with sex. She tried to remember a single conversation longer than four sentences about feelings or their relationship and failed. If there was any kind of chance behaviors could change than bringing up an unpleasant topic made sense but if you knew that it would be an exercise in futility, why roil the waters?

"It doesn't bother me, really," she said at last. "Do you think it would go better if I tried to talk to her, as another woman? I mean I can think of any number of things that most human women would be very uncomfortable discussing with a man."

Jack caught her hand in his and brought it to his mouth. He kissed her palm and said, "Sooner rather than later, okay?"

Jack created an opportunity for her a couple of days later by pretending to feel unwell toward the end of the lessons for the day. He went back to his rooms and Sam suggested to Julia that they discuss the remaining topic while sitting out on the sunlight balcony.

"Am I correct in understanding," Sam began, "that it isn't considered rude to ask another about their family and their home?"

Julia smiled gently and said, "Colonel Carter, you don't need to ask. It is obvious to me that you understand everything perfectly. You simply don't want to go against the man you love and show that you do."

Sam's jaw dropped. She thought about denying it but it seemed pointless. "I've loved him for close to 8 years and, until we came here, I didn't think I had any hope of ever being with him," she confessed. "When you've waited for something so long, you have to make it work."

Julia looked off into the distance and said softly, "I understand what you mean, Colonel Carter, truly I do."

"You say that as if you had gone through something similar," Sam commented, trying to tread softly.

Julia turned toward Sam and said, "Perhaps it is well that you hear my story. Prince Daniel has a heart for our people. We have all seen it. Despite the fact that he was brought here against his will, he has come to care. Colonel Mitchell also has tried to understand why it was important enough to take such measures to keep the peace intact but I do not see such an open mindedness in Colonel O'Neill. The royal family are not monsters. The alternative to Prince Daniel is Prince Caius which isn't really an alternative at all."

Sam bridled a bit. "Jack, Cam, and I are not part of the royal family. What has been done to us can't be justified by Daniel's destiny."

Julia said, "I understand your bitterness. Let me tell you my story." She leaned against the balustrade. "How to begin?" She laughed a little. "I first met Seth when we were children. We were five and he helped me retrieve my kite from a tree. He was such an intrepid little boy. This was on Laurus where you will remember there are the least Jaffa of any of the Beatus worlds." The smile had vanished and she added bitterly, "And even less now. There were always isolated incidents of persecution but they were very uncommon and deplored by almost all. In recent years, few humans have the courage to speak out against the outrages that have grown in number and severity."

She shook herself a little. "We were children. We didn't know that it mattered that he was human and I was Jaffa. His parents were not bigots nor were mine and they did not interfere with our friendship until we began to mature. Then they discussed it and were concerned that we would be harassed because the humanocentric movement was growing. They tried to keep us apart but they waited too long. We were in love and too young and foolish to know that this is not always enough. We were married. This is not against the law but there have never been very many such marriages, particularly on Laurus. We moved into a little cottage on the back of his parents' property. Not two weeks later, we were awakened by a pounding on the door. Seth opened the door and was immediately attacked."

Sam covered her mouth with her hand. She wanted to stop Julia because of the deep sense of foreboding that told her how much worse this was going to get but knew she had to hear her out. Julia's soft voice continued relentlessly. "There were five of them. They kept hitting him and hitting him and then they made him watch while they took turns with me. Then they set fire to the cottage. I managed to drag him out in time but the blows to the head blinded him. That was 15 years ago and there was sufficient outrage still possible among the general population that sufficient money was raised for us to relocate to Consensio where I could go to university and he could receive training to live as a blind man. We have each given up everything to be together, our world, our families, his sight. For this price, we must make it work. We must be a legendary romance."

Sam said gently, "I am so sorry. So terribly sorry." Reading between the lines, she thought that part of Julia's sadness was that it wasn't a legendary romance, but, after everything that had been sacrificed, problems could not be acknowledged.

Julia smiled a small, sad smile at Sam. "Now you see how important it is that we have the right ruler. Prince Daniel is more than his mother dared hope. God has smiled on us."

Sam replayed her conversation with Julia to Jack. "I was never a big Jaffa fan," Jack said. "Teal'c is the exception that proved the rule for me but this kind of hate is alive, like some sort of a hideous, poisonous reptile, one that reproduces exponentially."

Sam slipped her arm around his waist and looked up at him, "You sound like you've thought about it a lot."

"When I was black ops I was in so many places in the world that were devouring themselves over differences that were often insignificant compared to the similarities that people chose to ignore." Jack's voice was serious and emotionally engaged on a level that Sam had seldom heard.

Jack's heartfelt concern reminded Sam of Daniel. She felt a wave of desire sweep over her, stronger than she had felt for awhile. It was curious but after six months, the passion that had been so white hot had moderated to something more comfortable, almost like two married people. She kissed him as seductively as she knew how and moaned into his mouth, "Make love to me Jack."

A few days later when they went to meet their instructor, they found an unfamiliar man, a teddy bear of a human with a head of graying tight curls. "Where's Julia?" Jack asked without preamble.

Instead of taking offense, the man said, gravely, "My apologies. It appears no one thought to tell you. Or perhaps each assumed that another had done it."

"Tell us what?" Jack demanded, still behaving exceptionally rudely by Beatus standards. Even on Earth where protocol was less important, his tone of voice would have been more than a little in your face.

"Julia has gone to be with God," he replied.

"She wasn't that old," Sam blurted out. "How?"

He bit his lip and looked ashamed. "Our people sometimes behave as children. Some of those who wish to see the Jaffa separated out from the rest of us, they are often labeled the humanocentic party, appear to be responsible, directly or indirectly, for some terrible acts of intolerance. Julia was married to a human. People broke into their home and tortured them to death. They say it must have gone on for hours. Nothing was stolen. Words were painted on the walls in their blood. The police think it was a hate crime."

Sam began to cry, silent tears slipping down her cheeks and took refuge against Jack. Jack made a strangled sound and stood gripping Sam hard with one arm. "Will there be some sort of ceremony?" he asked. "Some way in which we can show our respect?"

"I'm sorry, Colonel O'Neill, but it is against our orders to permit you to leave the palace."

Jack balled his free hand into a fist. Later, Sam was to realize that Jack made a silent pledge then to do something, something to avenge Julia, to change things.

Several days later, Sam and Jack halted at the top of the waterfall in the middle of their daily run and looked toward their white stone palace, shimmering on the other side of the lake, now Jack's personal fishing pond. Jack sat down on the edge of the rapids, took off his shoes and socks, and put his feet in the cool water. He reached up and tugged on Sam's hand. "Have a sit."

"Why are we doing this?" Sam asked confused. Jack liked his routines and his daily rituals and this wasn't one of them.

He held up a hand, "You know the guard that looks a little like Kinsey?"

"It's sad, isn't it?" she said. "It's like he followed us here. Why couldn't he look like Brad Pitt?"

"So you've got a thing for Brad Pitt?" Jack asked, not really laughing her chance comment off.

"Holy Hannah, Jack, of course not. I've obviously never met the guy," she said resisting the temptation to roll her eyes.

"Anyway, he's been striking up little conversations with me. Making comments about Daniel. Feeling me out. I decided to try answering like I was really down on Daniel. I sensed that was what he wanted to hear and I wanted to see where it would go. Yesterday, he said something about Julia, something that implied she brought her death on herself."

"You agreed with that?" Sam asked, horrified.

"Like I said, I wanted to see where this guy was coming from. I think we tell Daniel about it. I think maybe he's trying to approach me from the humanocentric faction, get me to betray Daniel, in exchange for helping us escape. Maybe there's some way to work this as a sort of double agent.

"But you wouldn't betray Daniel even to get us out of here," Sam said, confirming her faith in Jack. 


	3. Chapter 3

Daniel entered his mother's office, followed at 5 paces by Cam, for their daily hour of conversation. She was reclining on a divan, swathed in a magnificent robe of heavy periwinkle silk that dwarfed her. They both bowed and she beckoned Daniel forward. He kissed her on the check as expected of him and took a seat next to her divan. She then beckoned to Cam. When he was within a few paces, she said, "Please sit Cameron," and he took a seat on the other side of Daniel.

"We have two problems and two opportunities, Daniel," his mother said and then paused, waiting for what he would say.

Daniel knew that he was expected to make a guess. Over the past three weeks, he had learned her technique for schooling him well. She liked to talk in contrasts and dualities. Everything had two sides and nothing was all good or all bad. "There are two circumstances, each of which is an opportunity and a problem," he said slowly, hoping for inspiration.

"Yes," she said impatiently. "A problem is always an opportunity and an opportunity is always a problem."

Where were there balancing problems? He remembered the message he had had earlier in the morning from Jack. When he and Cam had come to court, they had worked out a code to communicate with Jack and Sam. Jack's true message had been something like "Approached by Jaffa haters who want to do you ill. Pretending to go along."

Daniel continued, "We are surrounded by extremists who pull us in opposite directions, the pro-Jaffa symbiote party and the humanocentrists," he said, and was rewarded by a slight smile and an encouraging nod. "These problems have been with us for a long time so the problems to which you refer must relate to very specific circumstances that have recently arisen."

His mother nodded again and looked like she was about to speak, that Daniel had gone far enough and she'd fill in the rest, but Daniel enjoyed surprising her by going on to say, "One problem is a move against me by the humanocentrists. Jack O'Neill has been approached by them and he's playing along to see what he can learn. I would suggest we look at Jack going undercover. I assume the other problem is a move by extremists in the pro-Jaffa symbiote group."

His mother, nodded, suppressing a wide smile, and said, "Our operatives have identified a plot by the most radical factions within that group. Most are content to at least give you a chance on the throne before they move against you."

"You had in mind that Vala might be able to flush them out, did you not, Mother," Daniel asked, everything falling in place.

"Yes, my clever boy." She settled back against her cushion and adjusted the heavy silk of her robe. "I must require that you be under guard again when you go back to Paix and that you both wear the surveillance bracelets." She saw the look Daniel and Cam exchanged. "I want to protect you from being placed in a difficult place by your friends. If you are free to help them escape, it will make it very hard for you to honor your promise to me." They talked of various things and all the while Daniel thought about how to work Jack going undercover and how to protect Sam. She might be an Air Force officer but he was not going to allow her to be put in the face of the risks Jack would undertake. "Mother," he said slowly, "Ruth told me that anything between Colonel Carter and myself would cause loss of face because of her prior involvement with Jack O'Neill. Is this true?"

His mother looked at him narrowly. "What are you playing at, boy?" she demanded.

"I beg you, Mother, please answer my question," Daniel said evenly.

"It's a subtle thing. If you were to become involved with her after it was over between them, it would be a great loss of face. If you were to take her from him, it would be seen as exercise of your prerogative and admired. It also would grant her great status to be so desired by the crown prince. Of course, officially, none of this would be approved. Imagine what the priests would say! But as long as you maintain public discretion, the rumors about your love life are a matter of great interest to the general public." He nodded and started to speak, "BUT the affair with O'Neill does make her unacceptable as your consort no matter what the timing, is that clear?" she admonished. In a very, very soft voice, she said, barely audibly, "I let love lead me to your father and it cost this dynasty dearly."

Daniel has seen Cam's lively interest throughout the entire exchange and almost feared that if he didn't answer his friend's questions very quickly after they bowed out of his mother's presence, Cam would explode. However, he also knew now that there were very few places in the palace where conversations were not likely to be monitored and so did Cam. They almost double-timed it to the nearest courtyard and splashing fountain.

"You gotta to tell me what you're thinking, Daniel," Cam said.

"I don't want Sam involved in whatever Jack is going to do. These are nasty people. And Jack needs a believable motivation to completely betray me," Daniel said, not taking any pleasure from his solution.

"You think Jack is going to stand still for a moment for you even pretending to take Sam away from him? The man is more than a little on the possessive side," Cam said, sounding extremely dubious.

"I think he might to protect her and to do this thing. Something has gotten him personally engaged."

Cam snorted, "I'd make a wager but at this point all the money is yours."

Daniel said, "We'll fix the money thing but don't waste it betting against me."

Cam changed the subject. "What do you think about going back under guard and in the bracelets?"

Daniel sighed. "It's not as if we've been out of the palace grounds, is it? The whole time we've been here, they've known where we were every moment. Our relative freedom was only an illusion."

Cam and Daniel returned to Paix bringing Vala with them. The next day Cam, Daniel, Jack, and Sam sat at the head of the waterfall with the loud noise of the water making it difficult even to hear each other and no one in sight anywhere. It made Vala crazy that she wasn't out there with them and Daniel had left specific instructions to make sure she couldn't follow if she decided to. Jack laid out what he had observed so far and Daniel added in additional information about the humanocentrics and their conspiracy he had learned from his mother.

Jack said, at last, "I've got to do this. I have no love for these people of yours Daniel, but something about what happened to Julia won't leave me alone. Sitting here, a prisoner and able to only make the most meaningless gestures of defiance is making me crazy and," he said looking at Sam nestled in the crook of his arm, "my defiance is making my lady crazy."

Daniel bit his lip. Jack's words and Jack and Sam's cozy pose was the most open Jack and Sam had been to date about their relationship. He asked himself again, and as Cam had already asked him once or twice, "Are you sure you came up with this plan because this is the best idea or are you just jealous of Jack? You keep telling yourself that you've prevented yourself from falling for Sam. You know you lie."

He stood and requested, "Jack, can I talk to you, just the two of us, for a moment?"

Jack looked at him quite oddly and Sam seemed about to protest. Cam laid a light hand on Sam's arm as Jack rose and followed Daniel a short distance. He was careful to turn away from Sam. He'd always suspected she had some lip reading ability. "Here's the thing, Jack. I don't want Sam involved at all. These people are awful and if she's around you or working with you on this and they realize you aren't being honest with them…"

Jack looked angry for just a flash and then he nodded reluctantly. "Yeah." He laughed ruefully. "I realize why you didn't want to have this conversation in front of her. Nothing makes her madder than to think we're being all male and protecting her."

"And we're talking about you making them think you would be willing to kill me. I think one reason things haven't gotten that far yet is that although there's been definite strain at times, it's also plain that there is still a friendship between us."

Jack nodded again. "Okay. What do we do to give me motivation?" Daniel used his mother's technique, knowing Jack was actually a very bright man who kept it well hidden. He waited for Jack to put it together. "You are going to take Sam!" Jack exclaimed and actually advanced a step on Daniel which put him right in his face.

"Pretend to take Sam," Daniel said. "She's in love with you and I respect that."

Daniel stood and gazed out over his balcony in that evening. He looked for peace in the landscape before him to counterbalance his turbulent thoughts about his life. The only relationship Daniel had that was truly what it appeared to be at the moment was the one with Cam. He was living lies on various levels with Jack, Sam, and Vala. He was quite sure that his mother was not telling him everything and as for Caius and Ruth, they had their own agendas. "Please, please," he prayed to he didn't know who, "let me at least keep the friendship with Cam." He'd spent most of his childhood and much of his adulthood very alone. For awhile, he'd had a family in SG-1. Now he was isolated again in the midst of some huge web, the way he thought from what he knew of history, kings and princes always lived. He devoutly hoped he was a spider at the center of the web but feared he might be the fly. "Do what you've always done, Daniel," he told himself. "Somehow, it always comes out all right in the end." 


End file.
